Mark Levinson No 51 Brochure

Nº51

MEDIA PLAYER

PRELIMINARY

Nº51

MEDIA PLAYER

Introducing the Mark Levinson
Nº51 Media Player

The Nº51 is a milestone product for Mark

Levinson. An all-new design, the N

first media player to wear the Mark Levinson

name. Its goal is to provide superb playback

of DVD-V

it can be viewed as two products in one; a

DVD-V

ly high-quality picture and sound for the ulti-

mate in movie cinema reproduction and a

CD processor capable of music playback that

exceeds that of high-end stand-alone CD

players.

There are five areas of design in the N

Each car

design criteria and integrates seamlessly with

the other elements to create a product that

performs well beyond the sum of its parts.

ideos and Compact Discs. As such,

ideo processor that provides extr

efully crafted element surpasses its

º51 is the

eme-

º51.

and laser-engraved artwork. The chassis

cover is formed from a single piece of alu-

minum which incorporates a secondary

shield to provide a seamless electro-magnetic

barrier. The chassis itself is partitioned to pro-

vide electrical isolation for critical circuits

espect, the N

where needed. In ever

conveys the impression of a product built to

withstand the test of time.

y r

º51

The Transport

The hear

port. The N

minum frame for exceptional rigidity and sta-

bility. The drawer is precision milled from

aluminum and is mounted on polished stain

less steel drawer guides. The loader assembly

is comprised of custom-designed compo-

nents, including the drive lift and the rack-

and-pinion drawer actuator, which uses spe-

cial damping material to isolate the drawer

t of any media player is the trans

º51 starts with a solid cast alu-

-

-

The Chassis

The Nº51 chassis is designed to integrate

with the Nº40 Media Console and the 400-

series Power Amplifiers. The fr

lizes thick, machined aluminum pieces, a

combination of brushed and painted finishes,

234

ont panel uti

om nearby components. Optical encoders

fr

are used to send feedback to the motor con-

trol circuit providing precise control over the

drawer

­the transport frame is shock-mounted, decou-

pling it from the chassis and further isolating

’s motion. To provide a better sound,

Interior view of the Nº51 displaying

the cast aluminum transport assembly.

it from the audio section and other sections of

the player

om solid aluminum, increasing mass and

fr

rigidity, thus helping to eliminate flexur

from day-to-day operation and pr

bility in the physical mechanism. All of these

design attributes work in concert to provide

smooth, quiet, and consistent transport oper-

ation.

. The damper bridge is machined

omoting sta

The Power Supply

The power supply is the foundation upon

which the audio and video signals are built.

The analog audio outputs utilize a dedicated

power system. This consists of a custom

designed low-noise, toroidal transformer, a

Power to the digital audio and video sections

ovided by a switch-mode power supply

is pr

that delivers a single constant voltage. This is

e

distributed to local modules where it is con

-

verted to the voltages r

vidual circuit. This “point of load” power dis-

tribution technique prevents unwanted inter-

actions caused by uneven supply during peri-

ods of high demand fr

Another advantage is the ef

tion of power r

and providing a more stable operating envi-

ronment.

educing ther

ed for each indi-

equir

om any single circuit.

ficient distribu

mal dissipation

The Video Processor

The Nº51 provides the video performance

-

-

secondary analog power section which per-

ms the first stage of r

for

ing, followed by a final stage of local r

tion in the output section itself.

egulation and filter

egula

and flexibility that one would expect from a

-

Mark Levinson Media Player

-

brated scaling and de-interlacing ar

with support for resolutions up to 720p and

1080i. Other features include aspect ratio

. Custom cali

e pr

-

ovided

5

conversion to eliminate letter boxing and pil-

l

ar boxing. High quality 14-bit / 216MHz

video Digital-to-Analog Converters (DACs)

provide exceptional video output for analog

displays. The On-Screen-Display is unique to

º51 and complements the elegance of

the N

its industrial design.

In addition to the standard analog video out-

puts, N

Multimedia Interface (HDMI) output for use

with digital display devices. By using the

HDMI output with a high-definition digital

display, the video signal remains in the digital

domain all the way from the source to the

display. In an analog system, the digital video

signal fr

the player and back to digital in the display,

º51 includes a High-Definition

om the disc is converted to analog in

The Audio Processor

As in the Nº40, the Nº51 employs a Direct

Digital Synthesis circuit incorporating a very

high frequency reference clock. The jitter per-

formance is limited only by the characteristics

of the original clock and yields an extremely

accurate, stable, time reference. All data and

clock signals carrying the digital audio infor-

mation to the DACs are sent via a balanced

Low Voltage Differential Signaling transmis-

sion line. This transmission scheme has

proven effective in the telecommunications

industry, as well as in the N

The Nº51 also has the ability to output 44.1,

48, 88.2, or 96kHz signals from the S/PDIF,

AES, or TOS outputs using a dedicated sam

ple rate converter.

º40 and Nº390S.

-

introducing unnecessary conversions and

possible degradations of the picture.

The N

º51 also includes a separate monitor

output for use with the Nº40 Media

Processor’s preview function.

Digital-to-analog conversion in the N

implemented using balanced multi-bit

Sigma/Delta DACs delivering superb techni-

cal performance. In addition to their multi-bit

chitectur

ar

current output, which allows us to optimize

e, these DACs have a dif

º51 is

fer

ential

Nº51 remote control constructed

from cast aluminum.

6

the critical current-to-voltage conversion

based digital attenuation only to fill in the

stage with dedicated operational amplifiers

possessing superlative rise time and band-

width characteristics. Each channel incorpo-

rates two of these DACs in a dual-mono

mode configuration. Following this, a custom

active filter circuit sums both halves of the

balanced signal and provides excellent com-

mon mode noise rejection in addition to its

outstanding audio characteristics. This

approach to the digital-to-analog circuit topol-

ogy yields extraor

improved signal-to-noise ratio and superb,

musical sound quality.

Following the active filters, the signal passes

through the volume control. The N

dinarily low distortion,

º51 vol-

gaps for the very lowest level volume control

steps, we do not suffer the loss of resolution

associated with pure digital volume controls.

For music reproduction, the N

arate, fully balanced front left and right out-

puts in addition to a 5.1-channel output.

Additional attention was given to these chan-

nels resulting in a design which maintains

fully balanced signals from the digital-to-ana-

log conversion stage to the output.

º51 offers sep-

Conclusion

The Nº51 r

lution of the Mark Levinson pr

combines superb video and audio perform-

epresents the next step in the evo-

oduct line. It

ume control is built around a dual MDAC 12-

bit ladder attenuator, derived from the Nº40.

Volume controls are a critical part of any

audio product, and multi-channel audio is

ticularly demanding. Of

par

level between channels can be large, yet

always need to be maintained in a pr

relationship over the entire control range.

The N

º51 volume control uses a hybrid ana-

log/digital attenuation scheme to achieve a

remarkable 100dB control range at 0.1dB res-

olution for the entir

e range. By applying DSP

fsets in volume

ecise

ance while remaining true to the core princi-

ples of Mark Levinson. It is designed to ele-

vate the enjoyment of DVD-Videos and CDs

to a remarkably high level. New features,

such as HDMI, allow the stunning video

quality of the N

the tried and tr

make it a remarkably musical product. The

N

º51 Media Player owner can take pride in

knowing that they have purchased the finest

instrument available for the enjoyment of

their film and music collections.

º51 to be appreciated, while

ue analog audio cir

cuitr

y

7

©2005 Harman International Industries, Incorporated.

"Mark Levinson" is a registered trademark of Harman International Industries, Incorporated.

eserved.

All rights r

Not responsible for typographic errors.

Part # 072-17292 PRELIMINARY

3 Oak P

el:

T

ord, MA 01730-1413 USA

k, Bedf

ar

781-280-0300 | F

www

781-280-0490

ax:

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.mar

vinson.com